Of Rain and Lightning: An Alternate Fantasy
by Kusanagi no Tsurugi
Summary: Just when we think it's over, fate intervenes and challenges us once again. A new threat emerges that will test our heroes' conviction and trust.   Rated M for blood,  gore and eventual lemons. Pairings: LightningxOC, SnowxSerah, FangxVanille


**Of Rain and Lightning**

**Chapter 1: Forces**

**Hello all, sorry for the long delay, I've been trying to rebuild everything I lost when my PC's HDD died. I will be updating my Naruto and Persona fics soon, so please be patient. This is my first Final Fantasy fic, so I hope I'm not stepping on too many toes here. Please fell free to Read and Review once you've finished reading this. Thank You and Enjoy.**

**_ "I am a being of Heaven and Earth, of thunder and lightning, of rain and wind, of the galaxies." ~ Eden Ahbez_**

**_"Out of the dark we came, into the dark we go. Like a storm-driven bird at night we fly out of the Nowhere; for a moment our wings are seen in the light of the fire, and, lo! we are gone again into the Nowhere." ~ H. Rider Haggard_**

"Yah!" A loud battle-cry cuts through the stillness of the forest. The sounds of a blade cleaving flesh and bone, and the poor victim's blood soaked screams are proof of the attacks success in the darkness. Blood pours from the fatal wound in the man's torso as the unlucky target tries to futilely aim his pistol, even as the blade has slashed from his right shoulder to the very center of his body.

A wicked smirk, not unlike that of a natural predator spreads across his attacker's face before the blade pushes through what little holds the man together. The man's eyes go blank and his face locks into a look of torment and surprise as the bulk of his torso slides off of the rest, causing his innards and life blood to pool around him. His legs fall forward, splattering the attacker with his former essence.

The moon's light clears the trees for a brief moment as a breeze blows through the scene. The attacker's oddly shaped blade catches the light as it reflects the face of a young woman, no more than in her late twenties. A look of pure, ravenous ecstasy etches a path across her face as she drinks in the sight. The blood on her face providing an accent for her platinum-blonde hair.

Her eyes twitch wildly in expectation for another attack, her senses running wild with the smell of blood and the sight and sound of the soldiers cautiously approaching her. She does not fear them; rather it is they who fear her. Cold silver irises set on her next prey and in an instant she's off. "AHHH!" The helpless victim panics and fires his rifle wildly in her direction, hoping to slow her assault to no avail. Her reflexes are too good, and in a single instant she's behind him and his head now occupies the space directly in front of him.

Instinctively she knows they're behind her, readying for a barrage. Her reaction is swift, grabbing the body of her latest victim, she pulls it in front of her as the leader yells "Fire!" and the sound of machine gun fire drowns out all sound. The burst lasts for more than ten seconds, at which the Commander tosses a grenade in to mop up. The smoke from the barrels and smell of gunpowder dulls the senses. Tension chokes the atmosphere as they stay with drawn guns, awaiting the clearing of the smoke and the fate of their target.

The leader of the group is on edge, his hand on his sidearm as the rays of the moon dispel the chaotic smoke like the sun to morning fog. The area they fired upon houses nothing but chunks of meat and a tattered, blood-spattered uniform top formally belonging to their target. The more inexperienced soldiers react violently, heaving their previous meals onto the earth. The veterans relax slightly, lowering their weapons.

The Commander of the troupe orders them to move out around him silently so as to not draw any attention, moving up to confirm the kill. As he approaches, the soldiers scout out the area around him with their rifles aimed in every direction. The leader receives a communication from his base as to the status of his mission.

It's as he's about to answer he reaches down to view the head of his fallen comrade. As he turns he hears a click which alarms him. He turns it completely to see a grenade lodged in his mouth. His reaction is immediate; he tosses the head away and orders his men down a mere second before the blast rings out. Shrapnel and gore fly out in every direction. One unlucky soldier catches a skull fragment to the base of his spine, paralyzing him instantly.

As things settle down the commander rises to take stock. 'One man down' he thinks to himself. "Status Report!" He yells as his men slowly rise one by one.

The newest guy freaks out, tripping over himself and wildly scanning the trees for signs of life. "Private, calm down immediately!" The young man turns to face his superior only for a bullet to catch him in the eye. He falls to the ground, clutching his now empty socket as another bullet finds its mark in a soldier's throat. The leader ducks behind a large rock in front of him as another bullet penetrates the helmet of the soldier before him. He quickly scrambles for cover as the two remaining soldiers of his squad begin scanning the trees. 'Sergeant, what's the status of the target?' he scrambled for his communicator as another soldier is picked off in front of him. "Target is active! We're under fire! Damn it, we're losing men fast out here!" He pauses when the gunfire stops.

His head whips around to his last subordinate. 'What is your current status?' Horror not before seen crosses the sergeant's face as he witnesses the last of his soldiers being bisected vertically, his guts piling up where he used to stand. The demonic visage of his target starring at him with a bloodlust made his blood run cold. The young woman simply steps through the gore and directly towards him. He went to reach for his sidearm only to find it missing in all the commotion. She grabs him by the throat and proceeds to squeeze his neck as her eyes glow red. The man finds his survival knife and stabs the girl in the neck with it, expecting her to drop him only for to her drop her blade and proceeds to slam his head into the rock repeatedly, his brain matter dashed against the rocks until she finally became bored of it, releasing her victim.

She proceeds to walk into the middle of the field. Her image wavering in the moonlight before her form changes to that of a humanoid type machine, it's frame seemingly more crystalline than metallic. Its 'eyes' shine a bright gold as does the core of the machine. Its hands are a pair of clawed manipulators seemingly designed from a comic with small cannons attached to each, and its legs carrying powerful thrusters. It starts speaking as if reciting orders. "Test Successful... Next objective: Removal of 'Lightning' Claire Farron, Snow Villiers, and Rain Nox." It then wavers again before reforming its image into an exact replica of 'Lightning'. "First objective: Removal of Rain Nox in the 4th Gran Pulse district." It speaks in her voice before picking up its weapon and walking off to complete her mission.

Gran Pulse: 4th Residential District

"Rain! Could you come down here for a second?" A young woman's voice sounds through the stairwell, and into the conjoined hallway. Her Emerald eyes gazing into the distance, seemingly lost in thought, her short auburn hair flowing to the base of her neck, and her bangs frame her angular face. Her pink lips locked into a questioning position. The woman, of no more than 25 years of age turns to her guest, a Middle-aged man with a grizzled appearance and a vertical scar on his cheek. His graying hair held in place by a ponytail and a military cap. His uniform marking him as a Commander within the recently reorganized Psi-ops. "I'm sorry, I'm sure he'll be down in a moment, he gets so absorbed in his training as of late" The man seemingly unfazed by this turn of events simply smiles. "Do you have anything to drink Miss Milan?"

Moving seemingly on instinct a young man with violet hair and azure eyes stops in mid-kick on a practice dummy. He resets his position and pushes the dummy back against the wall. The dummy showing obvious signs of damage from the days activities. His skin is flushed, and covered in a layer of sweat. The darkness of the scar over his heart a stark contrast to his slightly pale flesh. His muscles taut from use and toned from battle flex as he reaches for his towel. He pats himself down while preparing to leave the room. "Again?" He quietly asks himself before shutting off the lights and closes the door behind him.

"So that's how we met, and how I came to care for him." The woman finishes with a slight smile. The man sips his coffee while nodding, showing that he's following what's she's saying. The rest of the conversation is cut off by the sound of stairs creaking. Both people turn to see the still shirtless rain quietly making his way down to their level. "You rang milady?" He says in a mock accent with more than a hint of glee in his voice, his eyes not looking up fully expecting her to be alone as always. Her eyes seemingly glued to his body barely hears him at all. 'Damn, he still looks hot!' she thinks as she sizes him up.

"Hello Lieutenant Nox, it's good to see you again." The grizzled man says as he slowly rises and walks toward the younger male. Rains eyes travel over to where the man approaches him. "Commander Uten...this can't be good." He observes as the man now known as Uten seemingly halts from his words. He removes his cap and places it over his heart. "As much as I hate to say it, you're right. There's a matter that requires your immediate attention." Rain's eyes cloud over, knowing where this was heading. "I'm no longer a soldier, not after what I witnessed."

Uten's jaw tightens as he thinks of how to word his next batch of news. "It's concerning Lightning...she's in serious danger, as are you." Rain noticeably freezes up and turns on his former Commander, lifting him into the air by his collar. The flesh of his scar seeming to glow as his eyes become filled with a demonic light. "What are you getting at Uten?" The girl rushes to rains side and wraps herself around him. "Stop it!" This seemingly snaps rain out of his rage enough to control it. "Thank you, Haruka." She smiles at him and releases her hold even as her heart races. 'He's so warm.' With the initial fear of being atomized out of the way, the man's eyes stare down at Rain sadly as he's slowly lowered to the floor. "Sit down, we have much to discuss."

Chapter 1: Forces End

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